Real Madrid – Manchester City, Picks and Tips
Very little was missing for Real to be OUT of the Champions League after just 30 minutes of the Guardiola symphony. Mahrez's short corner shot and Foden's almost lethal counter-attack could have taken City to 4-0, turning the rest of the game into a Blues party. The goal refused to come, for the moment. Then came Benzema, European football's man of the moment, the Frenchman gave Ederson no chance, managing a rather tricky finish past City's Ukrainian left-back. The goal managed to lift the visitors' spirits before half-time. Real Madrid managed to wake up from the early panic and produce more scoring chances at the Manchester City goal. In the absence of a right-back, the injury to John Stones sent Fernandinho on. The second half of the match started abruptly and new right-back Fernandinho did not disappoint Guardiola. The Brazilian intercepted the pass for Vinicius and turned his attacking move down the right flank into a breakaway goal for City. The Citizens thus restored their two-goal lead. Passing could continue quietly, the fluidity of play required by Guardiola could continue to see off his opponents' sweep.
Just two minutes of joy for City supporters. Vinicius invited Fernandinho to Samba and the City footballer accepted the invitation. Vinicius's orchestrated and played lightning attack brought Madrid, once again, just one goal behind City. Real regained their hopes, while City seemed determined to make amends for their first-half mistakes and settle the game as quickly as possible. In the last 20 minutes, Bernardo Silva hits Madrid with a venomous, clever and well-placed shot. The lead left by Istvan Kovacs surprised Real's absent defence, but not Bernardo. The Portuguese showed he's in the game, with tickets to the UCL final in his pocket, Real's defence cracked again. From nowhere, Laporte causes a penalty for Real Madrid in the last 10 minutes of normal time. Benzema goes to the spot. Devoid of any complexes, the French striker again executes Ederson with a scissor kick, a Panenka.
Our recommendation tip for Real Madrid – Manchester City: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE @ 1.50